I AM A SONIC BOOMER, NOT A SENIOR... In this blog, I am writing to and for those who believe that the Boomers will change what the word Senior means. I also believe that Boomers will change what retirement means in our society. The blog is also for those who are interested in what life after retirement may look like for them. In this blog I highlight and write about issues that I believe to be important both for Seniors and working Boomers.

Friday, June 17, 2011

What makes you feel alive?

The above question was posted on one of the email lists I subscribe to and I thought Amy had a wonderful answer that struck a chord with me. What struck me in reading her response is that it is the simple things in life that help her and me and perhaps you. We sometimes get caught up in the struggles of life, the politics of dispair, rather than the joys of life and the politics of hope. Enjoy!

I feel very peaceful today, and I think I can give it a more accurate response.

The ocean. Listening to the waves, feeling the sand beneath my feet, the breeze blowing my hair back, smelling the saltspray... and those waves. Endless depths of beauty and majesty. They can seem chaotic when I'm in a sad or grief-stricken place, but they are also beautiful beyond words.

Reading a good book. Letting myself dive beneath its pages, get swept away in the what-ifs. Getting to know the people so much that I cry when they cry, laugh when they laugh, feel I know them, feel let-down when the book ends, as if I'm brought back to the mundain, the bland, as compared with that level of letting my mind go.

Puppies, kittens, my animals. I love cuddling them, feeling the cats purr, the dogs lick my feet or my hands or under my chin. I love pressing my hands to them and feeling their breaths being taken. I love when Toby (my black lab guide dog) gets up in the night, repositions himself, and presses himself against my legs. I almost can't sleep without that comforting body there beside me...

Young life. Something about that endless, amazed, curious wonder. Taking things in wit an innocence unmarred by pain or heartache, age, cynicism. Something about letting the little ones, whether or animal or human, snuggle into you. Being able to hold them, play with them.

Music. I've said for so long now that it runs in my veins. I'd be lost without it. I thank God every day that my hearing loss isn't such that I'll just go deaf one day. Music expresses what I cannot, allows me to get lost in it, gives me comfort or strength, or joy. It expresses even those dark, angry or agrieved emotions that lack words. It's beautiful. Simple, intricate, amazing, soothing...

Writing. Often, the depths of my soul can be poured out in it, when words, the audible ones that require me to think how I want them to sound, fail me. I feel that so many people don't understand that longing to just write, to let go and say what's on my heart is more natural this way, or through singing. It's as if I can speak more openly, without fear of how I'll be erceived or judged or misunderstood. I can organize my thoughts in ways speaking does not allow. It gives me a freedom and a creativity, whereas speaking requires more focus, more rigidity. I feel alive when I write, because it's speaking the essence of who I am, not who I want others to think I am.

GIFTS THAT WORK

By personalising your gift you make your gifts more meaningful. One of a kind personalised gifts shows your creativity, originality, and thoughtfulness. They also show how much you care about the person to whom you are giving the gift.

We offer a wide variety and selection of products, great and original designs, free or low-cost shipping, and a very simple, fast and easy method of personalization of your gift. We know that in many on-line stores if you decide to give a personalised gift, the process to personalise can be intimidating and complicated.

However, we have made personalization simple, easy and fast. We also offer low shipping rates worldwide

At a workshop I was doing recently I was asked a question, “is pneumonia contagious” I thought it was but I was not sure, but I had pneumo...

BeBee Share

Total Page views

About Me

I was raised on Vancouver Island and in 1965, left to become a charter student of Simon Fraser University I graduated with a degree in Economics and Commerce in 1969; got on with life and then 25 years later graduated with my Masters in Educational Technology from City University in Seattle.

I started teaching in Surrey in 1973, but in 2000, I also started teaching at the University of Phoenix, Vancouver Campus. I became Area Chair for Curriculum and Instruction in 2005 but within four years, Phoenix closed its Vancouver Campus. I fully retired in 2012.

I served on the Board of SHARE Family & Community Services. The Society is a non- profit, independent, community based organization providing leadership and programs in response to the social needs of the residents of the Tri-Cities. I currently write a blog about issues important to Boomers as well as a blog about Personalized Gift Giving